MEBANE — Eastern Alamance senior Zack Littell always has been a standout on the baseball field, albeit at several different positions.

But the newly minted Appalachian State signee is headed to the next level with one spot in mind.

“I just want to see how good I could be if I just focused on pitching and not everything else,” Littell said. “I’ve never really done it, I’ve always played a bunch of positions. I’m really looking forward to just pitching.”

Littell signed a letter-of-intent Wednesday morning in front of family, coaches, teachers and teammates — both from the baseball team and football teams at Eastern Alamance. Littell has played receiver this season and partially blocked two punts in last week’s second-round game of the state playoffs.

But it’s baseball where Littell drew interest as a right-handed pitcher. It was Appalachian State that drew Littell’s eye.

“I guess ever since I was little it’s been the school I’ve wanted to go to. It just kind of stood out above the rest,” Littell said.

Even through a summer coaching change, in which former coach Chris Pollard moved to take the opening at Duke, Littell was sure Boone was the place for him.

The new coaching staff, with coach Billy Jones and pitching coach Michael Rogers, assured Littell of his comfort.

“The first coaches, I liked them a lot …” Littell said. “But then I met the new coaches and loved them probably more than I did the first guys, so I definitely wanted to stay there.”

For Eastern Alamance coach Randy Ballard, it’s a reward that was due for a player who he said never was caught up in anything more than playing.

“You really appreciate seeing kids like that being able to go forward and keep doing what he enjoys doing, which is playing,” Ballard said.